INTRODUCTION: Over the past few weeks and in the weeks to come my blogs have and will focus on our responses to the Covid19 pandemic and its rippling effects. But our nation is in pain with the violent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, which all represent the violence against African Americans in our country. This week offers an initial response.

The Conundrum Prayer

“Our God… we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (II Chronicles 20:12)

The people of Judah under King Jehoshaphat were facing a ferocious military alliance coming against them; the Bible describes them as a “vast army” (II Chronicles 20). Jehoshaphat made a wise choice – to inquire of the Lord.  

He declares a fast and the people commit themselves to prayer. Jehoshaphat leads the people in a prayer in which he affirms the sovereignty of God over all nations, reminds God of His call on the children of Abraham, reviews the history of God at work with His people, and then requests that God be their defender. He humbly admits that he doesn’t know how to proceed, but he reasserts his faith: “but our eyes are on You.”

What do we do when we face insurmountable obstacles?

  • Whether we’re dealing with the daily grind of responding to the global coronavirus pandemic 
  • Or we’re grieving over our nation’s political polarization 
  • Or we’re confronted with the ongoing racial injustice that seems to repeat again and again

An example from this past week: I see a picture of George Floyd with his Bible raised in his picture with men he was serving with in Houston’s very tough 3rd district… then I see the video from Minneapolis of police asphyxiating him… then I see our president posing alone for a photo op holding a Bible up just like George Floyd. And my heart cries out “Lord, how do I respond? I don’t know what to do!” 

Image: Source: Nijalon Dunn / Courtesy of Resurrection Houston
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Image: Patrick Semansky / AP

I’m trying to learn from Jehoshaphat:

  • To turn first to prayer (before I turn to news updates, twitter, Facebook, etc.)
  • To choose disciplines like fasting and quietness to help me listen for the Lord’s voice giving Him the opportunity to calm my fears or call me to repent over racism in me. (Personal note about the news: I want to stay informed but too much news commentary is simply infuriating)
  • To do what I can – check in with a friend living in one of the hot spots, express empathy with the pain that provokes frustrated responses, or listen to the voices of the black community or the Asian-American communities and their leaders. One African American colleague summarized his black experience versus my white experience in the same city: “When you see a policeman, you feel protected; when I see a policeman, I feel suspected.”
  • To reflect on the biblical accounts of God bringing good out of hardship and suffering (which is a great antidote to my inclination towards imagining the worst or listening to doomsday reports or conspiracy theory TV people).
  • To realize our human helplessness – “we don’t know what to do”
  • To choose to direct my attention to the sovereign Lord – “our eyes are on you.”

Prayer: Almighty God, like Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah, we don’t know what to do, but we’re looking to you, our Deliverer. Help us to be part of the solution to these and other challenges, and help us “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (from Hebrews 12:1-2). Amen.  

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